NEW ORLEANS -- Sharing a stage with the Gronkowski brothers and Andrew Luck, Jimmy Graham easily was the most popular man on the stage at Wednesday's Play 60 event at the NFL Experience.

Logical, given Graham's lofty standing as a hometown hero in the Big Easy. After he spoke to a large gathering of children at New Orleans' massive convention center, we caught up with the New Orleans Saints' star tight end.

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Graham has started rehab following surgery this month to repair a lingering wrist injury, saying "everything's going well" in the recovery process. He was asked if he's spoken to Saints coach Sean Payton since his bounty-related suspension was lifted.

"I haven't talked to him yet, I was going to go by his office today, been very busy as you can see," he said. "I'm just glad to have him back. He's our leader. I'm just ready to really sit down and speak with him and see what he did with his time off."

Payton wasted no time tending to business after his reinstatement, quickly firing defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and defensive backs coach Ken Flajole. Was Graham surprised by the moves?

"For me, I'm not really into hiring and firing, I just play the game," Graham said. "Sean knows what he's doing, obviously he's in my opinion the best coach in the NFL. He's going to do what's right for the rest of us."